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Stephen I. Wagner, Squaring the Circle in Descartes' Meditations: The Strong Validation of Reason, Cambridge University Press, 2014, 244pp., $95.00 (hbk), ISBN 9781107072060.
Reviewed by Georges Dicker, The College at Brockport: State University of New York
In order to defend Descartes against the charge of circularity, commentators often argue that his doubt is restricted in some way that exempts current clear and distinct perceptions from any doubt; for example, that it extends only to remembered clear and distinct perceptions (e.g., John Cottingham), or that it applies only to the general principle that whatever the meditator perceives clearly and distinctly is true (e.g., Anthony Kenny, Bernard Williams, James Van Cleve). In his unusual and provocative book, Stephen Wagner rejects such palliatives. He holds that Descartes' doubt is completely general, yet can be answered. He traces the doubt to. . .